New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- Like Arjun Saluja (Hrithik Roshan's character) in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Deepak had a number in mind. Not for a business deal, but for his financial freedom.

An investment banker by profession, he spent years meticulously tracking every expense, increasing his investments with each salary hike, and building a portfolio he believed would allow him to retire at 40.

Then, during a conversation with his parents about their retirement finances, he began comparing their monthly expenses with what they had been just a few years earlier. Healthcare, medicines and caregiving costs had climbed far faster than he had anticipated. It made him wonder whether reaching his FIRE number was only half the battle and whether he had...